Here's my two cents, mostly gleaned from my '2010 Top Played' playlist in iTunes. I have a bit of trouble using this method, cause the best I stuff I end up buying on CD and thus the play counts are not recorded in iTunes. Oh well.
For this list, I'm limiting myself to one track per artist, mostly for variety.
So here they are, a bunch (not a top ten) of tracks I really dug this year, in alphabetical order by track title:
"Angel Echoes" - Four Tet
---I've never been crazy about Four Tet, but this album really does it for me... this opening track is just awesome, I love the way the vocal sample is chopped and looped. It's kind of a bridge between dubstep and electronic pop, a very fresh sound.
"Dance Yrself Clean" - LCD Soundsystem
---Opening track from the album that might be the group's last. Definitely stands up to the other two album openers, and the title recalls "Yr City's a Sucker", another track with a chugging groove... Except this track kicks it up a notch. Awesome production trick of starting you off small... narrow range of frequency and sound field for three minutes to lull you in, then BOOM goes the dynamite, and the track just explodes. Then you know you're in LCD territory.
"I Feel Better" - Hot Chip
---Just watch the video.
"Odessa" - Caribou
---Hypnotic and pulsating, Caribou never fails to deliver. I don't think there has ever been a catchier and more layered dance song...
"Round and Round" - Ariel Pink
---My friend Matt called this one back in April as the track of the year, and with the highest play count for 2010 in my iTunes, he was pretty spot on for this one as well.
Great song that recalls songs from one of those late night Time-Life 1970s CD compilation infomercials, mixed with contemporary rock.
"Shine Blockas" - Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane
---"Shutterbug" gets all the glory, but I guess I'm a sucker for a smooth R&B sample, Blockas just edges it out for my list. Great production, great use of the sample source... You can't beat this for a hip-hop ballad.
"Superfast Jellyfish" - Gorillaz
---Catchy and fun as hell, and sort of the thesis of Plastic Beach, an album about our disposable culture (to oversimplify)
The album is filled with great cuts, this one's my fav though.
"Walk in the Park" - Beach House
---I love the vibe of this whole album, it takes you to a space. The rhythm on this track is great, and the chorus is killer.
"We Used to Wait" - Arcade Fire
---I can't believe this one didn't make so many of the top tracks of the year lists. If I had to pick three to be the top, this one would be there... maaaybe the best one of the year. Just amazing. I can't help but think of Steve Reich when that first piano riff comes in, regardless of how much of a stretch that reference would be.
Great song, ground-breaking video, amazing production, what else can I say?
"Written in Reverse" - Spoon
---I love the rhythm of the whole thing, the way it snaps and jerks and stays melodic. That bass line is pretty damn funky too.
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